CIA-assisted corruption at the highest levels in Afghan government

On July 8th, 2010, I posted a short article from Agence France Presse that cites a few facts and implications on corruption in Afghanistan. In today's post, I want to below refer back to a few of the highlights of this article.

Today I also print an article from English Aljazeera on corruption high up in the Karzai government which also involves the CIA. The Aljazeera article is titled "Karzai aide paid by CIA." The URL for the article is: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/08/201082643550599917.html

The point that stands out in the information is that corruption is rampant in Afghanistan and is encouraged by some parts of the US government. It is a perverse reflection of what the US does with taxpayer money in Afghanistan - and other places. This ongoing and widespread corruption is not only a sheer waste of money with respect to American taxpayers and Afghan citizens but also serves to perpetuate some of the most unsavory and anti-democratic Afghan leaders.

Facts from Agence France Presse:

• "Corruption in Afghanistan has doubled in three years since 2006 [according to Integrity Watch Afganistan]
• "more than a quarter of households [say] they had paid a bribe to receive a public service [frm a poll of 6,500 Afghan adults]
• The previous source found corruption "had become so entrenched that it threatened the multi-billion-dollar effors of the international community to help end nearly nine years of current conflict...."
• Widespread corruption also has the following effects: (1) "threatens the legitimacy of state-building; (2) "leads to increasing inquality"; (3) 'impedes the rule of law"; (4) hinders access to basic services"; (5) "and has a major [negative] effect on economic development."

Report on "Karzai aide paid by CIA"

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, allegedly pressured investigators to free Salehi [AFP]
An aide to the Afghan president at the centre of a corruption probe is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, The New York Times has reported, citing Afghan and American officials.

Mohammed Zia Salehi, chief of administration for the National Security Council, appears to have been on the CIA's payroll for many years, the US news organisation quoted officials in Kabul and Washington saying, although exactly what services he provides for the money was unclear.
Afghan security forces arrested Salehi in July, for allegedly soliciting a bribe in exchange for impeding a US backed investigation into a company suspected of shipping billions of dollars out of Afghanistan in the service of government officials, drug smugglers and anti-government fighters.

After being held for seven hours, Salehi was released from jail when Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, intervened forcefully on his behalf, The New York Times reported.

Salehi is being protected by Karzai allegedly because he knows too much about the inner workings of the presidential palace, including details of widespread corruption, an Afghan politician told the Times.

Money transfers

Police arrested Salehi during an investigation into New Ansari, a money transfer firm that relies on couriers and other low-technology methods to move cash into and out of Afghanistan.
Since the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, New Ansari has grown into a financial hub in Afghanistan, moving billions out of the country, mostly to Dubai, for "wealthy Afghans of every sort" including politicians, drug traffickers and anti-government fighters, The New York Times reported.

Salehi is allegedly a confidant of some of the most powerful people in the Afghan government, including Engineer Ibrahim Spinzada who was, until recently, the deputy chief of the Afghan intelligence service.

The CIA declined to comment on allegations that it paid Salehi.

Allegations of corruption and nepotism have dogged the US presence in Afghanistan and such problems undermine support for Karzai's government and foreign nation-building efforts, analysts say.